Am I Normal?
by torib0o
Summary: After getting into a bit of a fight, Momiji asks Haru if he's normal....I'm so bad at summeries but the story seems good to me. If you read, please review. Romance, H/C, WAFF


A/N: Lately, I've had an urge to write one-shots, so here's another. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket (Furuba).

--

Hatsuharu sighed as he closed the door to Hatori's office. As much as he hated physicals, he was glad that his family had their own physician and was even gladder that that physician was his own cousin. _'Maybe I should stop by to see Momiji.'_ He thought to himself as he walked down the hallway. He'd hardly seen the rabbit since their break in school year and he wasn't averse to admitting that he missed Momiji. As he turned down the corridor leading to the rabbit's quarters, a blond blur sped passed him and into one of the many rooms lining the wall, slamming the door.

When he was outside Momiji's room, Hatsuharu raised his hand to knock but paused when he heard muffled sounds from within; he leaned in closer to the door and listened. He pulled back in surprise when he finally recognized the sound, _'Is he crying?' _Hatsuharu thought for a moment, what in the world could possibly upset his cousin?_ 'I'm not going to find out by standing out here.'_ He thought as he raised his hand to the door and knocked. When he received no response, he opened the door and stepped inside.

"Momiji." He called, looking around the room. Not moving from his spot in front of the door, Hatsuharu let his eyes scan over the expanse of the room. It looked as neat as always and almost nothing seemed amiss, almost nothing. There on the floor, in front of the bed, were Momiji's clothes but looking at them, he knew something was wrong. The clothes were tattered and frayed and as he crossed the floor to get a better looked at them, he saw what he thought was blood.

"Haru?"

Turning toward the direction from which the voice came, Hatsuharu found Momiji standing in the doorway of his bathroom. He dropped the clothing back the floor and stood up to watch his cousin's movements. "What happened?" he asked calmly as he took in the smaller's appearance; his hair was mussed, there was a small cut on his upper cheek and he was wearing a yukata which was only kept closed by the firm grasp of slender fingers.

"Nothing." He said as he averted his eyes, gripping the clothing in his hand tighter. "Haru," he spoke quietly. "I was just about to take a bath…." He let his sentence trail.

"I can wait." He said as he made his way to a chair, sitting down heavily.

Momiji's eyes followed his cousin's movement as he shuffled his feet. "You don't have to-"

"I want to." He said, effectively ending their conversation with the calm, final tone of his voice.

Momiji bit his lip as he nodded somewhat tersely. Turning his back, he quickly closed the door to his bedroom and sighed as he looked into the mirror. He felt tears filling his eyes as he let his yukata slip to the floor, the bruises plaguing his body coming into view. What had he done to deserve this? Why were people always picking on him?

Hatsuharu stood quickly as he suddenly heard loud sobs from behind the bathroom door. He knocked gently at first but when he received no response, save for the wails that seemed to grow in intensity, he pushed the door open and was immediately faced with a sight that made his heart clench. There on the floor, just a few inches away from the door, lay Momiji, head covered by his arms, curled into himself.

Momiji flinched as arms wrapped around his tiny frame but he calmed a bit when he recognized the familiar, soothing whispers and light, tender touches. Curling into Hatusuharu, he sobbed freely. It was moments like these that Momiji could admit that he loved Hatsuharu like no other. The ox always took such good care of him and was always so gentle with him whenever he was hurting, never even asking for a single detail. When his sobs finally stopped, Momiji tried to pull away but stilled when his cousin's grasp tightened.

"You are going to tell me what happened."

Momiji looked up at him and shook his head. "Haru, I-"

"You are going to tell me what happened right now, Momiji."

He sighed, knowing he couldn't explain the situation with Hatsuharu calmly for much longer. "I was walking back from Shigure's house 'cause I was visiting Toru but on my way home, some bigger kids stopped me," he paused to take a shuddering breath "and..and they started pushing me and then one of them knocked me down and then another took my hat and then they…and then they…"

Hatsuharu held Momiji as tightly as he could without hurting the boy as he began to sob with loud, agonizing wails once more. He hadn't expected for the rabbit to get beat up and especially not in the middle of the day. He slowly rocked Momiji, whispering calm reassuring words the entire time. He couldn't believe people could be so cruel sometimes. In his mind, Momiji was the sweetest, kindest, and most accepting person he'd ever been graced with meeting but he knew that based on his appearance, some people wouldn't even try to see who Momiji really was behind his small, cutesy exterior.

"Haru," he all but whispered. "Am I…normal?"

Hatusuharu was taken aback by the question but didn't hesitate to answer. "Of course you're normal, why would you even ask that?" when he heard the rabbit sniffle, he gently stroked his head.

"One of those boys said…that I was weird-"

"No, Momiji…" he tried to console him but when Momiji screamed, he knew it wasn't working.

"A freak! He said what fifteen year old dresses like…like a little kid!" he screeched and buried his face in Haru's shrit.

"Come now," he said gently, still stroking Momiji's head. "You don't believe that do you? You don't believe what some random thugs said; they don't even know who you are." He paused; gently kissing Momiji's forehead. "I will tell you this once more," he said with lips pressed to soft skin. "You should dress however you feel is comfortable."

"How'd you know it was about my-"

"I just do." He said softly.

"And how do you know it was just strangers? How do you know it wasn't someone we knew?"

He raised an eyebrow at this.

"How do you know it wasn't someone from school?"

He settled back against the wall the behind him, Momiji still in his lap. "Was it someone from school?" Momiji's eyes widened and he shook his head negatively a bit too late. "Who was it?"

Sighing, he said, "It was Inabi and some other boys."

Hatsuharu sat up suddenly. He knew Inabi and right now he felt like punching the kid's lights out. He was in their grade but in a different class and he'd seen the boy with a couple of rough looking kids but he was actually a good guy and pretty smart hence Hatsuharu was surprised as well as angry but his anger was winning out at the moment.

He stood suddenly, causing Momiji to fall to the tile floor and stalked back to the bedroom, he could feel himself slowly losing conscious thought and he knew it wouldn't be long before he went black. Just as he opened the door, he felt arms wrap tightly around his waist and a face in his back.

"No Haru," Momiji whimpered. "You can't leave me now. I need you."

He softened. Turning around, he picked Momiji up underneath his arms and hugged him tightly. "Ok."

With Momiji still in his arms, Hatsuharu walked back into the bathroom and set the small boy down and just as he was about to leave, he heard his cousin's small, shy voice asking if he would like to take a bath together and he didn't refuse. So after a nice soaking and Hatsuharu trying with all of his might to ignore the bruises that stained beautiful porcelain skin, they crawled into Momiji's large bed and laid in comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company.

"Haru?"

"Hmm?"

Momiji sat up and looked down at his cousin with expressionless eyes. "Am I normal?" he asked once more.

Hatsuharu sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "No, Momiji you aren't normal." He said in a contemplative kind of way.

"Haru?"

"Who can say what _normal_ is or isn't?" he glanced at the rabbit. "I don't believe there's a single person in the world who's really normal because there are so many different levels of humanity you'll never be able to tell what average is and I think I like it that way."

Momiji's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why?"

"Hmm? Because, it would be boring if everyone was the same." He sat up and looked down at his cousin. "Tell me, Momiji. Do you think I'm normal?"

He thought about. Was Hatsuharu normal? Was he just like everyone else? "No," he said thoughtfully. "You're not normal, but…but I love you anyway."

Hatsuharu looked down at Momiji and pulled the boy into his lap. "And that is all that matters; having one who loves you and one whom you love." He held the rabbit tightly. "As long as you have that, the words of others do not matter."

Momiji snuggled into Hatsuharu's chest. "Yeah," he murmured sleepily, "I love you, Haru."

As he lay back down, Hatsuharu pulled Momiji upon his chest and ran his fingers through soft, blond hair. "I love you too." He whispered as he let his eyes slip shut. He did love Momiji, truly. He loved every aspect of the boy and was glad to know that the feeling was mutual. As he drifted into sleep, Hatsuharu felt a featherlike touch against his lips and was blissfully unaware, that in his sleep, he was smiling.

When Momiji heard his cousin say he loved him, he felt an insurmountable quantity of pride swelling within him. Propping himself up on Hatsuharu's chest, he leaned down and softly kissed slightly parted lips. As he pulled back, Momiji was more than a bit surprised to see the taller boy smiling in his sleep but before he realized he was smiling too.

'_I'm glad you're not normal Haru, I don't think I'd ever want anyone else to make me feel the way you do.'_

--

End.

So, how was it?

The idea for this actually came to me the other day when my eight year old brother asked me what being normal really meant.

And I know 'Am I Normal' is a weird question for someone who can turn into an animal to ask but c'mon man, humor me.

And…FUNFACT!

Did you know that in the Japanese versions of Fruits Basket and Ouran High School Host club, the same woman does the voice of Momiji and Honey?

I thought it was cool cuz Hunny likes bunnies and Momiji actually turns into a bunny.

Mmm.

Anyways, review please.

-torib0o (9/13)


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